Tag: transitions

My first trip to the Islands was back in 1992. It was to the Big Island. One of my most vivid memories of that trip was the perfumed air.

It wasn’t the smell of that so-called “fresh scent” that humans have tried to make out of synthetic or petroleum based products that cling to your clothes and your nostrils like a parasite. No, this was a natural scent, the air was naturally sweet, with the floral scent of plumeria. It was a treat to this city-girl’s senses. Growing up in Chicago, there was no fresh floral scent in the air, anywhere.

Subsequent trips to the islands never matched that first time. Not until now. The other morning while walking to the beach for my morning walk, I felt it. I felt a tug at my heart, a sense of pure joy at being surrounded by the scent of plumeria trees. I almost felt like that twenty-one year old woman, who was living her dream of visiting Hawaii, of working with a marine biologist, hoping to become one. My world was wide open back then, and plumerias remind me of that innocent time of my life. A time when I was transitioning my life from student to adult, from Chicago to San Francisco.

Last week, when I couldn’t sit at my desk any longer, I went for a walk. Outside of the building I work, there is a small residential area. The buildings architecture are old Hawaiian plantation style. Large plants and trees surround them.

To my delight, some of the large trees were plumeria trees. The largest plumeria trees I have ever seen. There was one with skinny, pink petals, and another with the more common white petals with a yellow center. I picked up some of the nicer blooms that had fallen with the breeze.

I bring the flowers inside and place them on my desk. A temporary embellishment, that reminds me of the dreams of my twenty-one year old self.

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Recent Posts: 90-days in paradise

Today I give thanks to this happy couple. My parents – circa 1969 at Banff or Glacier NP. They represent what the United States of America is all about. A country of compassion. A country of opportunity. A country where an economic refugee from Germany and a political refugee from Cuba, could meet, fall in […]

I prayed for rain. I prayed for weather that reflected my mood. I wasn’t feeling sunny, mostly sunny, or partly sunny. I wasn’t feeling summery. I was feeling mostly cloudy. My mood was autumn rolling into winter. The rain began Saturday – a trip to Lanai reminded me of my Pacific NW home and I […]

A quick trip off Oahu was the perfect cure for island fever. Especially, when the island plus the weather reminded me of home – the Pacific NW. Tall Cook pines, thick clouds, and misty rain had me wondering what kind of spell I was under all day long. Perhaps I was on an island in […]

Dear Super Moon, You looked splendid tonight. Your rouge-like aura when you first emerged above the horizon made me wonder if you were a bit angry. Did Mars tell you something that pissed you off? Did he tell you that you are not made of rock, but of cheese? My sweet, you do look beautiful […]

Grounding. Solace. Alone again, after a great weeklong visit with my brother, I felt pulled to take a walk among plant life. I needed their help to remember how to feel rooted on this Earth. I needed their help to remember the diversity of life. I needed their help to remember that life can happen […]

Ah paradise, you are my Shangri La, the place where there are no worries, food is plentiful, play no work, and I will never get old. Who am I kidding? Not you I hope. The food is not free. The housing isn’t either. And there are chores to do. Thanks to my neighbor monopolizing the […]

Love with abandon. You have heard this adage before. You have wished for it. You may have decided you will never know what this means. But you are experiencing it right now, every day, every hour, every minute. You are loving Earth with abandon. You think she will support you. You think she will always […]

When I first arrived in the islands, I was told that most people work two jobs in order to afford living here. In other words, folks who live here, don’t have many days off. I have taken this to heart and am trying to make the most of my days off. After all my weekend […]

A picture is worth many stories. This photo tells the story of island driving. There are surprise lane closures – for trimming back the overgrown foliage- that then cause backups. Then there is the motorcyclist who is ready for a long road trip in the Pacific NW with leather jacket, pants, and boots, plus several […]